Charles Henry III / Interview

Charles Henry III (better known as Chucky Edge, or Chedge) is quite possibly my favourite human being. I would gladly sit through a 24 hour Mars Volta concert if that would mean I could hang out with Chucky every day after, and God knows how much I hate the Mars Volta. This young man is the definition of a "road dog"; the ultimate roadie. His enthusiasm and story telling skills remain unmatched. One of the most genuine dudes out there... Next to all that, he's a top blogger too, check out his Casual T's blog if you haven't yet. If you're feeling old and washed up, or if you feel like you're "over" hardcore, you need to hang with Chucky. Here he is...

What's up Chucky? How are you? How was that hiking trip that you did recently?
Bjorn! What's up! I am doing pretty good. My hiking trip was awesome. I wasn't prepared but I learned a lot.

Did you discover things about yourself that you weren't aware of? What is it about solitude that intrigues you so much?
Yeah, I kinda had a self-awareness thing, I just kinda realized some shit about myself and just saw life for what it was. I'm not trying to be some sort of hippie douchebag but it was a good time. I talked to myself a few times, and realized it wasn't so much about solitude, but just experiencing nature or something most don't. I would love to go with friends but it's just not really in reach when people have daily schedules and I'm back in Cali doing bullshit dental shit. But I def love doing stuff at my own pace. It was really hard on my body too.














"The Lost Coast of California" - what exactly is that?
The Lost Coast is a 26 mile long piece of Northern California coastal mountains and beach that is basically untouched by most of human existence. Minus a house, an airfield, surfers surfing the best and most hidden North American surf spot, it's just trails. It's a really diverse landscape, and really different climates. On one side of a mountain it's 32 degrees and windy, on the other side it's 52, sunny, and calm. It was fucking awesome. The house out there has an airfield and it's a HUGE supplier of weed in the nor-cal region. The drug runners bring their surfboards to surf too cause it's a 15 mile hike to the "spot".

Your blog is brilliant in its simplicity. I'd say it's my fav blog out there. What prompted you to start your own blog? Who came up with the idea for it?
I was up at Deathwish Inc talking to Tre, Nicole and Jake. And we were talking about life, celebrities, and the internet. And I asked them what a blog is, and how easy it is to set up? and they told me in 1 minute. I have tons of tour stories and tons of shirts, so I put both together. It kinda sucks that I feel bad about wearing shirts over, but a shirt has a thousand words... So I started and I've gotten pretty good comments from friends about it. I just hope people keep up with it and don't forget about it. I'm gonna start doing interviews too, 5 question quickies. I don't have time to read 20 questions everyday. People are quick with their surfing too... Oh yeah and Ryan Hudon always wanted me to wear a shirt a day, for a year, different shirts. So he gets credit too.

Now that you're blogging it up every day, what will happen to The (One) Zine? Which reminds me that I still haven't seen the issue if was interviewed for... what's up with that?
I'm doing a pizza zine now called "Casual Pizza"; George Meltdown is helping me with it. If you can get me 50 words or less on pizza joints in Ghent I'd love to work with you on it. Get the ball rolling!

From our conversations I seem to recall that your first hardcore live experience was seeing The Nerve Agents, am I right? Would you care to tell us all about how you got in touch with punkrock and then hardcore?
I got into hardcore from Dropkick Murphys, Bouncing Souls, Pennywise, Misfits, etc. The Nerve Agents, Side By Side and Minor Threat were big influences and big transition bands. It was just different and people seemed to have their heads screwed on right. I never really liked mainstream shit cause it wasn't personal enough. It didn't hit home.

How was your first show actually? What was the full line up? Did you perform the infamous "frigobazar" at this show?
First show ruled, but I was def too scared to hit the pit. First show I ever wanted to hit the pit but didn't was American Nightmare with the Nerve Agents in Cali. That was wild. I'd like to think I only frigobazar'd only twice or 3 times, and I caught some Strife vids and got with the program... or didn't depending on your opinion. I always like watching the frigo now tho...













What was it that attracted you to hardcore? What was/is so cool about it? How come that you've stuck it out while so many seem to lose interest when they turn 21?
I got attracted to hardcore cause of the energy, message/music and just the all around feeling it gives me. It's a different feeling than any other. It's still cool to me because I get to hold onto really strong friendships and meet new people every trip. The friendships are really good, I feel like I've made friends for life, and I still get into new bands, and still listen to the bands that got me into it. I've stuck it out cause I still find ways to get the feeling every time I go to a show or listen to hardcore. When I stop getting the feeling, I'm gonna bow out. Kinda like many have, but you can't fake it. So who knows when it happens? But I can't fake it. I've gotten into stagedives in the last 1.5 years, that's some good shit. But I'm all about the mosh. Or Joe Hardcore's "church of the holy mosh". I'm about to start 2bands too. So that's gonna let me give back more than what a roadie can.

What was the Bay Area scene like at the time? Were shows violent? Boring? Different from how they are now?
The Bay Area was awesome. Bands like For The Crown and Allegiance and Lights Out were playing every weekend. The Damage Done, Kyle Whitlow ruled as a frontman. It was the same 200 kids going to every show every weekend. It has changed like everything in this world and it's just different now. I don't really know Bay Area hardcore anymore cause I've been in Boston, but I still see friends at shows and hang. Change is unavoidable. I just can't wait to do a band.

Another thing I remember is you telling me about how you got your first order from Revelation (a Side By Side hoodie?) and you freaking out over it. Can you describe the day that package arrived at your doorstep? What happened when you opened it? What did you do?
I came home from school and the package was in my room, I put it on, and screamed around the house moshing in my room and practicing stagedives on my parents bed. I sang Side By Side songs in the shower and wore it to school every day for 2 months even if it was hot. I still have that hoodie. Its black/grey now... haha. That hoodie means even more now cause one of my best friends Ben Pritchard, who got me into hardcore and straight edge, passed away in June of 2007. So every time I see that hoodie, I think of him constantly. So it's an ode to him. He had a heart attack at 25. Life is fragile. The time is now...














At one point you decided to travel across the States with a few friends to attend Posi Numbers Fest... What year was that? Why did you want to attend the fest so bad? How was it?
I had always wanted to go to pos-nums, and i had a soccer mom van at the time. My friends Scott, Madball, Justin and Ross all decided we needed to go to Posi Numbers 2004 and we were gonna drive. The week before nobody could go but Ross and me and then everyone could go, on the last night we finally got it all set. We drove non-stop and it was the best shit ever. We all threw in 180 in gas and just ripped the country in half. I got knocked out during Death Threat but was moshing for Mental on the last day. Fell asleep in Wilkes-Barre on the last bench and woke up in Iowa? It was FUCKED. We all learned the words to "And You Know This", the Mental song, and I listened to "One With The Underdogs" and "Age Of Quarrel" and "One Voice" NONSTOP. It was awesome, we didn't give a fuck and bought tons of fireworks and set it off (Madball) on the drive.

When did you decide to move out to the East Coast? How did you handle the move? Did you go to college as well out there?
I dropped out of college in Chico, and just wasn't happy with where I was at in life. I had only gone to pos nums and hadn't really seen the world. I needed a change. So I worked a landscaping job for a bit, visited a friend in boston, and then moved 2 weeks later. The Sox beat the Yankees in game 7 the night I flew in, in 2004. It was awesome. I've fallen in love with the city of Boston, and I've met some of my best friends out there. Without Boston I wouldn't have matured to where I am now, and I wouldn't have learned half the shit I know now. Boston is a perfect fit for me. I should go to school, but "real life just has to wait".
The move was kinda big at first, but I fell into a good group of friends out here, and I'm at a good place. The east coast is cool, the west coast is always home. But so is the east coast. Nowhere USA to the max.














Was the Verse / Evergreen Terrace / Cursed / Bane tour your first "real" tour or am I way off here? How did you get into touring / road dogging?
That was the 2nd tour I did. I asked Sean Murphy at the March 2005 ICC Bane show if I could go on the tour, and he said yes, and I was on!
The first tour I road dogged for Guns Up! on the Have Heart, Verse full US tour. I didn't know the Verse dudes yet, and only knew Hudon and Pat Flynn from seeing them at a Hot Water Music show and maybe 5 other hang outs. Dan from Guns Up! was my roommate at the time and we were/are best friends. So he asked me to go on tour, and I said yes before he even asked me. The first tour was cool, but I kinda bummed around, cause I was 240 pounds, but I moshed and had fun. I drove a couple times, and the van broke, so I wasn't really allowed to drive.
After the Verse tour, I really got into the tour mentality. The first tour was kinda meeting people and falling in love with the road. The Verse tour I road dogged for was when I learned the value of hard work. I was home for 3 days and then went on the Guns Up! US 2005 summer tour and that was awesome too. Somewhere along there I got to be friends with Greg Willmot and was on the Lockin' Out mailorder staff/Halo team. I went on a Mental tour after that, and the rest is history (101).
So mainly Dan Heselton of Guns Up! is the start of my touring, and I thank him for that. From there, it's all just working hard, hitting the pit and having a good time.

Would you want to make a living out of touring one day, be it with your own band, or as a well paid roadie / merch dude / tour manager?
I would love to. It would be great to be paid to road dog. I'm sure it will happen in the near future. I want to sing for a band, and it's happening, we'll see how far that goes too. But yeah, to work and get paid, that's the life... but it's not only about that.

Out of all the tours that you have done, which ones stand out the most and why? What are your favourite cities to hit and which ones are your least favourite?
I can't choose a fav tour or band to tour with, cause there are too many good times to compare. So I'll just say, my first tour was Guns Up!/Have Heart/Verse, and the last tour I did was Shipwreck/Ceremony/Blacklisted. My favorite cities to hit are: Seattle, Richmond, San Francisco, Los Angeles area and Montreal. Montreal is like Europe. Kids are siked to see USA bands too.

After touring with bands like Mental, Blacklisted, Down To Nothing, Have Heart, Shipwreck, Guns Up!, Verse etc. you must know the members of those bands quite well. Please share with me some fun / interesting / unexpected facts about some of these bands and their members...
Haha. There are sooo many stories, and sooo many good people. Things that stand out in my head right now currently:
- Mental = FUCKING ROAD DOGS. We would sleep on the side of the road. Didn't give a fuck. That band was a machine. DFJ is constant entertainment. Those dudes are all individuals in that band, that make one good band. We def had fun on long drives.
- Blacklisted = more like brothers to me. Fuck everybody mode... Henry Rollins book on tape... Tim Smith, Dave Sausage, Todd Jones, G, Beansie, Chris Ross, Foley, those dudes are my dudes. We have fun giggin' nonstop, and sooo many inside jokes about stuff we listen to, or stuff we watch. Those dudes are tight like a rope... hahah what does that even mean?
- Have Heart = more like being at home with roommates, so that rules. I'm so proud of these dudes cause they are doing well. I love joking with these dudes, and I've gotten to do some great dives to HH gigs. I hope they get me in on more tours in the future.
- Down To Nothing = so much fun. Rowdy town. Swimming everyday. Fucking with Sinking Ships. Hanging out. And moshing and getting a tan somehow. Too much fun. And they stayed at my house when they recorded. That was nonstop too.
- Rise And Fall = it was my pleasure to go on a full US tour with them, and ride in their van in EU06. I hope they weren't too bummed on me for getting them to shows hours early, we had tons of fun in a minivan. Sooo many jokes. Weather changes daily. Las Vegas sun tanning. I want to tour with this band again. How much are plane tickets to EU? One way??? Meet me in the mosh pit to the new record. I'll be human sacrificing.
- Guns Up!= last show was awesome. It was great. These dudes are old friends now, but still good friends. I could write a book about them as people.
- Iron Age = never toured with them, but I'm on tours they do. LOVE this band. The dudes are in outer space and still on planet earth and they rule. Tons of fun and something new everyday. I wish I could have recorded conversation topics with Wade. Bitter End is up there too as a band I want to tour with.
- Bracewar = when I was on tour all summer I ended up in their van for like 2 weeks and it ruled. I don't think they know how much it meant to me, but these dudes are great too. I would love to do a full US schedule with them.
- Cold World = I'd tour with this band just to be Albite's personal road dog. Get him Starbucks Pumpkin Latte's everyday. And somehow get Hoodrack on that tour... and it's a nonstop fun time. Cool band, cool dudes, good tunes.
Sorry to any bands I've left out, this is my first real interview...

Your first taste of Europe was when you road dogged for Blacklisted on their tour here in Oct / Nov '06... How did you like Europe? What were your first impressions upon landing in Brussels? What were some of the coolest places and things about Europe?
Europe ruled! I liked it all. Germany can be kinda overbearing and lame. Ghent and London were my fav places but I like Ghent 10 x's more. Ghent rules. I just liked to see different stuff. I wish I'd moshed and dove at Maximun Destruction festival. The food was cool, and I like the tour van R'N'F had. All in all I'd tour Europe twice a year if I could.

Out of all the Euros you have met and talked to, who has the craziest accent?
Oh Bjorn... your accent is my favorite. It's got tons of enthusiasm behind it. Martijn from No Turning Back has a cool accent. Vince has a wild party dude accent. Basically your band, everyone has an accent that describes them. It's cool. Erik Tilburg has a very knowledgeable accent too. Dude rules. True Blue crew. Kitzel has a cool accent, cause it's a mix of Upstate New York. SIX FT DITCH. I need their CD.

I heard you tell the story of that Integrity show in CT. (feat. Hatebreed members moshing) a couple of times and yet it never ceases to amaze me. Could you please describe into detail the events that took place that night?
I feel like I've taken up a lot of space so I'll just say this: Dead Wrong played a reunion that show, and I pitted hard (pics to prove). Mental and RJ's played. It was one of my favorite shows of reunions or benefits. The Floorpunch one was cool too. A lot of people left before Integ but when Jamey Hatebreed hit the mic, the place demonstrated its style (Madball). It was a bomb of camo and CT mosh.

Please comment on / discuss / evaluate the following:
Barry Bonds: Stand by your team/man. No fairweather fan here...
In-N-Out Burger: Good tour food. I don't rip off the road. Maybe once every trip home? Tour food!
"Eye For An Eye", the song: Oh my god... I get the chills just thinking about it. George is a genius.
Judge and getting their logo screenprinted on your camo jacket: Thanks Greg Bacon. I mosh in it!
Females: They are cool. So is hardcore. So is baseball. But you can't really compare all at once.
The word "flavourful": I'll use it when I cant think of anything else to desicribe flavor that is full.
Sharing a room with Kei Yasui: The best. So many good conversations or just daily banter. I miss it.
All Out War: Yes! I like them a lot. I think they pull of "hard hardcore" or metal core perfectly. They do it just right, lots of bands don't.

Rumor has it that you're about to start a band with George (the Mexican who is not a Mexican) from Meltdown... What can you tell me about that? Is the band going to be called Killer Series (as planned)? How about the mic in pocket mosh?
Haha YES. The band is gonna be cool. He is working on the music, I am gonna show him some Entombed parts, that he is gonna make sound like Antidote/NA and we're golden! It's gonna be called WORLD PEACE. I'm gonna contact you more about some dl shit. But there is gonna be some really 'different' lyrics. It's gonna be the pocket mic mosh intro and lots of Shark Attack sharp vocal patterns. Vocal patterns are a big part of this band.
I'm also doing a band with Hudon, a straight edge band called (as of now) Boston Wolfpack. Road dog Steve Reddy was in NY Wolfpack, it just kinda works out. That is a Judge/Raw Deal band. Siked on that band too. DEMOS IN 08!

What else is good these days? Please hit me up with a Top 5 of your favourite records, food items and shirts of the past couple of weeks.
1. Silk nog.
2. Wet Californian burritos (that place we went to near my parents house with TxJ)
3. New Shipwreck.
4. Collegiate state shirts (California, Mass, Washington, etc...)
5. Hanging out with friends. (I used to take it for granted but now I value it.)

That's about it Chucky. Thank you for your time. If there's anything you'd like to add or any shout outs you want to give, do it here and now:
Thanks to Albite for the shirt opportunity, Tre/Nicole/Jake for the inspiration behind Cas-T's, roommates of house of scum, mom and dad, my girl Molly, the bands I've toured with, Scott Vogel for the amazing stage presence and good basketball skills, Notre Dame football for the worst season to date, Bjorn for my first real interview, sorry if it doesn't make sense.
And... RAMBO 4... 1-25-08 MEET ME IN THE THEATRE. Catch me wearing my sleeveless Judge jacket. Camo son...
Love you Bjorn and everyone who reads this: the positive youth will always remain.